A Note from Sunyatta, Founder of Calabash 🖋️☕️🌿
Peace Tribe,
I’m writing to you from a place of deep concern and care.
Like many of you, I’m very troubled by what we have been witnessing for some time now. Adults and children have been killed, maimed, and kidnapped in the course of immigration enforcement and related actions. Families have been torn apart. Lives have been irreversibly altered. There is no way to soften that truth.
In addition, people who have stood up for the dignity and safety of immigrants have themselves been met with violence. Many have been harmed or killed for daring to protest injustice. These realities are connected, and they demand to be named plainly.
As the child of immigrants, I cannot stay silent. My mother’s parents arrived in this country in the 1950s seeking educational and economic opportunity, and with the intention of contributing to the fabric of this nation. That story is not unique. It is the American story.
On my father’s side, my roots trace back to Indigenous people whose presence on this land goes back centuries. I live at the intersection of indigeneity and immigration, and from that place, what I am seeing right now is heartbreaking and unacceptable.
At Calabash, our work has always been global and deeply human. Our teas, herbs, and spices are grown by people all over the world. Over the years, we have worked alongside growers, sponsored individuals from other countries, shared childcare between shop and warehouse families, and built something that feels less like a business and more like an extended family. We know each other’s children. We show up when someone needs help. That is who we are.
We also know that much of what sustains daily life in this country, coffee, tea, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, fruits, and vegetables, comes from the labor of people who are underpaid, underprotected, and too often unseen. To witness their criminalization, or the criminalization of those who defend them, is something I cannot accept quietly.
I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I do know this: silence is consent. And I want it on record that what is happening is wrong.
In moments like this, the most powerful thing we can do is turn toward one another. Get to know the people around you. Check in on those who might feel isolated or afraid. Build small circles of care where you live. Preparedness is not about fear. It is about community, knowing who you would show up for and who would show up for you.
We also want to keep space for conversation within this community. If you feel moved to share reflections or questions, you are welcome to reply to this note. We are listening. Staying connected is part of how we remain human.
Thank you for being part of this community. Thank you for supporting us, and please know that we stand with you too. We are all in this struggle together, and we will need each other in the days ahead.
With care and resolve,
5th Generation Master HerbalistTea EO of Calabash Tea + Tonic,
The Kitchen Witch
